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U.S. import prices recorded their biggest drop in seven months in March as the cost of petroleum declined, but the underlying trend pointed to a moderate rise in imported inflation as the dollar's rally fades.

The Labor Department said on Wednesday import prices fell 0.2 percent last month, the largest drop since August, after an upwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in February.

That lowered the year-on-year increase in import prices to 4.2 percent from 4.8 percent in February.

The drop in import prices is unlikely to be sustained with oil prices pushing higher in recent days amid rising geopolitical tensions following last week's U.S. missile strike on Syria and reports that Saudi Arabia wants to extend production cuts enacted in January for another six months.

Import prices excluding petroleum have now increased for three straight months, in part reflecting an ebb in the dollar's rally. Prices for imported capital goods edged up 0.1 percent in March after rising 0.2 percent in February.